Posted on 03/25/2012 5:36:09 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
“I had no sense of well being till I went gluten free.” “I don't use my inhaler anymore.” “My skin rashes disappeared.” The testimonials are startlingly earnest. Although food fads come and go with wearying regularity, perhaps it's time we investigated wheat. Why are a small but steadily increasing number of people going gluten-free, and saying it's changed their lives.
Perceived as a ‘Western disease,' gluten sensitivity has never really been taken seriously in India. Its most extreme form is Celiac disease, caused by acute allergy to gluten, present in wheat and related grains such as barley and rye. A lack of awareness has meant it remains highly under-diagnosed. Last year Dr. B.S. Ramakrishna, Professor and Head, Department of Gastroenterology, CMC Vellore, wrote an editorial in the Indian Journal of Medical Research calling Celiac disease an “impending epidemic,” and stating that “what we see clinically is the tip of an iceberg that threatens to grow bigger”.
Meanwhile, fitness professionals and nutritionists are noticing that many people have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Unlike traditional allergies, which cause immediate reactions, gluten sensitivity is harder to pin down since it's gradual and comes in various forms: headaches, stomach cramps, bloating, anxiety, depression… This is why Chennai-based NCCA-accredited fitness trainers Raj Ganpath and Arvind Ashok, who run The Quad, advise all their clients to go completely gluten-free for six weeks as an experiment, to understand their allergies and heal their guts.
“Hippocrates said ‘all disease begins in the gut,' and gluten can gradually erode the villi in your small intestine, prohibiting your body from absorbing nutrients from food,” says Arvind, adding that almost “everyone suffers from some gluten sensitivity”. Yet, he adds, people resist giving up their chappatis, bread, pizza and pasta. ‘Our grandparents ate this' doesn't hold good any more since we're now consuming new strains of wheat. Dr. B.S. Ramakrishna concurs, stating that unlike ancient diploid wheat varieties, “modern hexaploid wheat has highly antigenic glutens, more capable of inducing celiac disease”.
Raj and Arvind don't stop with restrictions on wheat — they recommend drastically cutting down on grains, replacing them with ‘Real Food,' that is, organic fruits and vegetables, lean meats, wild caught seafood, country eggs, milk and milk products. Raj says he gave up wheat when he discovered it triggered his asthma. Now he advises clients to do the same. Before you cry into your aloo-parathas, here's the kicker. “The key is to heal your gut. To make it stronger.” Once you do that, even if you are gluten sensitive, you can eat pasta occasionally. You'll be fine, as long as wheat doesn't go back to being a diet staple.
Unless of course you're a Celiac. Jeeva George-Abraham was forced to completely give up gluten when diagnosed with Celiac a few years ago. “I've always had a sensitive stomach. Then in 2009, I had a spate of infections, swollen ankles, rashes...” She was consistently misdiagnosed, a result of a lack of awareness of the condition. Next came depression and anxiety so debilitating, she found herself unable to work. “I finally decided to quit my job and find out what was wrong.” She was eventually tested for wheat allergy. “It changed my life.”
Going gluten-free means more than giving up bread and chappatis. “Soya sauce has wheat. Sambar has asafoetida. Cornflakes have malt extract. There was so little information available, so I figured out a lot of things on my own,” says Jeeva. Today, she runs the Facebook page ‘Gluten Free Living in India,' offering advice and recipes. Like others, she says that the Indian diet, particularly the rice-dependent South Indian one, offers more options for a diet low in gluten.
Meanwhile, gluten-free businesses are slowly germinating. In Bangalore Shwetha Muthanna runs the Gluten Free Bread Boutique using a range of approved ingredients to make bread, bagels, pizza dough and cookies: sorghum, rice, millet, tapioca, corn flour, guar gum, flaxmeal, honey and fruit pulp.
Dr. Ramakrisha says more Indians are being diagnosed with celiac disease. He cautions that since “wheat has higher protein content than other cereals we should not restrict it in someone who does not have a problem with it.” While millets are substitutes, he says they do not contain as much protein as wheat.
If you suspect you are gluten sensitive but giving it up for ever seems too hard, try Raj and Arvind's six-week experiment. “Try it honestly. In the end, at the very worst, you've not eaten chappatis for six weeks,” says Raj, adding, “If you want to go somewhere you have never been, you have to do something you have never done.”
And I don't own a cat or eat unwashed vegetables.
I didn’t know I had a sensitivity to wheat and grains, maybe a craving that did make me feel badly after. I love not eating gluten. I feel a million times better. It’s been 18 months and I’ll never eat gluten foods again.
Your son is lucky that there are so many more gluten free products on the market today. I really had to devote most of my time just making sure that his food would work for him.
Your son is lucky, there are so many more gluten free products on the market today. I really had to devote most of my time just making sure that his food would work for him.
Wheat, barley and rye are not banned for Passover. Leavening (Chametz) is. The matzahs you can buy at the store for passover? Made from wheat.
lol
That’s in modern times. In ancient times winnowing was a far different task. No doubt they had their eye on the problem. check this site ~ http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/medical/virgin_s_bower_poisoning.htm ~ we are probably talking about the same thing.
They had an epidemic of this stuff in FYR and Bulgaria about 15 years back. Killed a bunch of people.
They had an epidemic of this stuff in FYR and Bulgaria about 15 years back. Killed a bunch of people.
http://www.makli.us/bearded-darnel-0040902/
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/grasse34.html#dar
I am finding conflicting claims that the greek zizania, or zewan, is not the same as the bearded darnel. Maybe there is ‘grant’ money available to research this plant???? (Just kidding.)
Isn’t it all so interesting?
The only wheat I’ve had (unless it was hidden in a restaurant dish, I have eaten Asian, etc a few times) since September 2010 were the two”bits” of matzah I was required to eat last year at the two Seders.
This year I found some gluten free matzah. The sad thing is, it says kosher for Passover but not for use for religious purposes. I feel that Gd wanted us to live through the commandments and not be made sick by them. I will use the gluten free matzah anyway. The only night I had acid reflux was the first night I had matzah. Never had it before. It scared me so much- I woke up unable to breathe. (I was pregnant)
And I love the “ritual” of challah and the after bread prayer (birkat hamazon). I miss it.
But I won’t go back to gluten.
I believe you have that backwards. He is a punishment for gluten.
I ended up taking two antibiotics for a micro plasma bacterial infection on my lungs. This was followed by some new sickness every week for 6 month’s. When I could not swallow they finally diagnosed it as celiacs. Within three days of not being on gluten I felt like I was on speed I had so much energy. A month later some one I know gave me something that had gluten in it. In twenty minutes I went to sleep and slept for 18 hours. This was after my hands felt like they were on fire and I got cramps. There was maybe a cheese it worth of gluten in what I ate. Now I check everything including my medicine. I won’t eat out either and I don’t eat anything someone has made. I can tell when something has any gluten in it.
Getting gluten out of my diet changed my life and got my autoimmune disease under control after 12 years of struggling with depression and fatigue symptoms.
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I’m hoping to hear you went with Geico and saved tons of money on your insurance, too! /jk
And just to add a little fuel to the fire..Where does a lot of our wheat gluten coming from?
That’s right, China. Adulterated? Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
Remember this? IIRC the ‘secret’ ingredient was melamine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration blocked imports of wheat gluten from a Chinese company Monday. The agency identified the company as the source of the tainted wheat gluten that caused a massive pet-food recall last week.....
So, it has great value and yet should be burned out before it kills you.
Does this include beer?
Many more Americans are food hypochondriacs then is commonly believed.
I believe you are correct.
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